Turkey has stepped
up a crackdown on people smuggling, arresting 1,300 asylum seekers in
a single operation just hours after the country promised to curb the
flow of refugees to Greece in exchange for financial aid from the EU.

Hundreds of Syrians,
Afghans, Iranians and Iraqis and three people smugglers were seized
on Monday in the countryside near Ayvacık, a Turkish town north of
the Greek island of Lesbos, Reuters and the Associated Press
reported. According to the UN, about 425,000 people have arrived in
Lesbos in smuggling boats this year, while a further 300,000 have
reached other Greek islands from Turkey – leading the EU to
criticise its eastern neighbour for not doing enough to police its
own border.

The Ayvacık sweep
is thought to be the largest single mass arrest of refugees in recent
months, and follows an agreement on Sunday that saw the EU pledge to
give Turkey €3bn (£2bn) in exchange for increased border patrols.

Turkey says it has
detained nearly 80,000 would-be migrants since 2014 as well as over
200 major smugglers. But rarely is an operation as big and organised
as Monday’s sting. Recent Guardian reporting highlighted how police
turn a blind eye to the smuggling economy in Izmir, where smugglers
do business a few metres from two police facilities. On the beaches
near the town of Çeşme, where many leave for the Greek island of
Chios, the departure points are unpoliced and accessible to all.

But the arrest of
more than a thousand people in one day suggests Turkey is increasing
efforts to secure its borders in response to the EU deal. Rights
groups warn this development will endanger refugee lives, since those
who still want to reach Europe will be forced to try riskier methods.

Melanie Ward,
associate director of policy and advocacy for International Rescue
Committee UK, said the agreement “is deeply concerning because it
is primarily designed to obstruct the movement of those seeking
refuge in the EU, which runs contrary to the EU’s basic founding
principles. This deal will only make it more expensive and dangerous
for those determined to continue their journey to Europe”.

Smugglers have also
warned that it is impossible to completely curb such a large flow of
refugees. Speaking to the Guardian before the crackdown, one smuggler
in Izmir said: “It’s the Syrians who determine whether they’ll
go or not. The people risking the journey from Damascus, they’re
the ones who are making this happen. Anyone who wants to go will go.”

Turkey is home to
more Syrian refugees than any other country, with estimates
suggesting it houses between 1.8 million and 2.2 million. Most of
them do not have the right to work legally – a factor cited by many
refugees as a reason for leaving for Europe. One Syrian who plans to
leave Turkey in the coming days said that the status quo means many
Syrians work illegally to support their families – and end up being
exploited by their employers.

“I worked for
three months and never got paid once,” said the Syrian, who asked
not to be named. “Because of this I want to leave – so that I can
live in dignity.”